Overview
- Speaking at the World Meteorological Organization’s extraordinary conference in Geneva, the UN chief said no country is safe from fires, floods, storms and heatwaves.
- He said every one of the last ten years has been the hottest on record and that record ocean heat is destroying ecosystems.
- He pressed governments to fund a global network of multi-hazard early warning systems designed to protect people from extreme weather.
- The UN reports that more than 60% of countries have introduced such systems since a 2022 initiative set a goal of universal coverage by 2027.
- He noted that 24 hours of advance notice can reduce damage by up to 30%, and the WMO says weather- and climate-related hazards have killed over 2 million people in five decades, with 90% of deaths in developing countries.